The Jewish Press Blog
Comments and Thoughts on Today's Important Issues -- and a Little Bit of Venting, Too.

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Carlo Strenger is a psychology professor at Tel Aviv University. The department of psychology at Tel Aviv University is home to quite a few leftist extremists and runs anti-Israel one-sided indoctrination courses as part of its curriculum (see this for details). Strenger is moderate in comparison to some of the ultras at Tel Aviv University. He has published papers claiming that Israel is a racist bigoted anti-Sephardic place and, more generally, that Israeli "prejudice" is what drives the Arab-Israeli war.

He claims to be an expert on terror, at least its psychological aspects, and is part of a panel on terror of the World Federation of Scientists (WFS). Not surprisingly, these are people who think that terror is caused by "grievances" and can be contained by redressing those grievances. "A purely military cure only exacerbates the illness," they write. Tell that to Winston Churchill.

Today Strenger has a guest op-ed in Haaretz, unfortunately not on its English website, titled "The Deepest Fear." Basically it calls for Israel to accept the Palestinian claim to a "right of return." Strenger writes that Israel's recognizing such a "right" is part of the Saudi initiative, which he applauds, and that it will be part of any other Arab diplomatic initiative. While noting that Israelis generally see the "right of return" as a plan to annihilate Israel by flooding it with millions of
(make-pretend) Arab "refugees," he asks why Israelis are REALLY afraid of accepting the "right of return." His answer is that accepting it would force Israel to acknowledge its moral responsibility for the Palestinian "Naqba" of 1948-49. The "Naqba" (Arabic for catastrophe) is the new nonsense word of the Israeli Far Left, used to refer to the fact that the Arabs lost the war of 1948-49 that they launched against the Jews and that a few hundred thousand "Palestinians" became "refugees" as a result of that Arab aggression.

Strenger's call for accepting the right of return as a psychological palliative for the poor Palestinians appears in Hebrew here.

Strenger argues that Israel's "fear" of admitting that it was an
ultra-evil villain that "caused" the "plight" of the "Palestinians" is what prevents peace from breaking out. Curiously, the Arab "fear" of admitting to 60 years of terror, murder and genocidal aggression plays no role at all! Israelis think that if they acknowledge their moral
cussedness and their ethical responsibility for the "Naqba," this will undermine their very legitimacy as a state, says Strenger. Strenger's solution? Israelis must dress in black, beat their breasts, and moan how awful we are, how sorry we are that we were mean and evil and caused pain to the Palestinians.

Now, if Israelis need to mourn and repent for being the victims of Arab aggression in 1948-49, just think about all the other historical
injustices for which Jews need to apologize and repent and offer
reparations. Perhaps Jews need to apologize for the suffering of German civilians during World War II. How about all those Germans who were shot by Jewish partisans in the forests of Eastern Europe? Who will help salve the psychic pains of THEIR grandchildren? Isn't it time the Jews
acknowledge their role in German tribulations and offer reparations for their part in the massive sufferings that were World War II?

Think of where it could lead! China and Malaysia could apologize to Japan for being attacked by Japan. Kuwait could apologize to Iraq. The Czechs could apologize to both Germany and Russia. Ethiopia could apologize to Italy. The mind boggles!